Adjustable lamp socket



Jan. 9, 1940. I s 2,186,496

ADJUSTABLE LAMP SOCKET Filed July 6, 1958 INVENTOR Wjiew Patented Jan. 9,1940 1 Q h ,l v 7 l -.7,11UNITED 'ST-AZTEVIST ATENr oF'FiCE v 2,186,496 I I ADJUSTABLE LAMP SOCKET Leonard W. Rois, Jersey City, N. J., assignor of one-half to Edwin Werner, New Dorp, Staten :1 Island, N. Y. w

ApplicationJuly 6, 1938, Serial No. 217,671

8 Claims. (01. 24s274) This invention relates to adjustable supports rings carry a latch or catch or other appropriate for lamps of the type capable of being used in means for flexing orholding the spring 15 transstore windows or ior photographic purposes and verselyflexed the' desiredamount. Wherever else one or more. beams of light. are The latch 2| is pivoted-to the ring l9 and is 5' required in 'a'p'articular direction, and has for its received within a recess or perforation in the I object to provide a simple and satisfactory device catch member 22. Also pivoted to the rings l9 of this class,. capable.of beingeasily adjusted to and 20 are links 23'and 24 pivotally secured substantially any acute angle to the plug axis, in together at their adjacent ends 25 near-the 1on any direction. f v I gitudinal central portion of the spring. The

Referring to thedrawing: I l catch 22 is shown as jbeingmade of strip material 10 Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of this invention. provided with a hole '26 .therein forreceiving the Fig. 2'is a View of the device of Fig. 1 when latch 2|. The edges of this hole or perforation the lamp socket is angularly adjustedwith re- 26 are preferably hardened for cooperation with spect to the axis of the support or plug. .notches Z'lorother knurled-or roughened per- Fig. 3 is-an end view of the device of Fig. 1. tions of the latch 2|. Preferably the'notche's ll 7 Fig, 4 is a detail of the latch and its cooperatorknurling are on; opposite sides of'thelatch so ing catch. I j that diagonally op-posite corners of the recess 26 Fig. 5 illustrates another embodiment of this may engage the latch for holding it in "position invention without showing the connected plug when the s'pringis bent as shown in Fig. 2. 1 The and socket members or spring. I Y latch 2| is also'preferably-made flexible so that 20 Fig. 6 illustrates the device of Fig. 5 when ad- Lit may ,be bent; by the engagingv edges of the. justed to bring the lampsocket at an angle to recess 26 in even t the'spring is flexed to a the plug. 7 v I greater or less extent thanshown in Fig. 2. -The Fig. {I ls asection on the line 7-1 of Fig. 5. twist inthe catch 22' is indicated by the numeral The plug member In is provided with th usual- 28, which enables the catch to have its recess 25 metal threads for reception in a lamp socket. 6 h pvs ion for recept t e at 2| Wh e A lamp socket l2 containing an incandescent the opposite end is adapted for pivotal mountlamp bulb :3 or the like is connectedby flexible in n th p carried y th ring 9- Th insulated conductorsxliwith the plug or other pivot pin 29 on the ring l9 serves as a mount- 30 support l0 and is adapted to be bent at an angle ing for both the latch 21 and the link,23, it being 30 I to the supporting plug'in order to direct a spot understood thelink 24 is also mounted on the light Wherever desired. The groove 120; on the pin 30. Preferably the latch is provided with an socket enables'a reflector to be attached. enlarged head- 3l to prevent its being withdrawn A coil spring I5 is threaded on the outside of from the catch perforation. The latch and its 5 the plug and socket. members, a'few turns H5 at catch are preferably short enough to prevent the 35.

each end of the Spring being received in a'threadl nk 3 and 24 eing brought, intO l u a ed groove formed in the plug'and socket members. alignment and their becoming angularly d is. Preferably the threaded groove on these members posed in the opposite'direction as'might a toggle is" made 'of' slightly larger diameter than the joint. By preventing the links, 23 and 24 from 0 spring when unstressed. As shown in'Fig. lithe coming into alignment, their cooperation with 40 free convolutions of the spring between the plug: the spring is assured: and socket members are of generally: cylindrical 1 The links 23 and 24 serveto press the spring shape and not substantially longer. axially than inwardly as shown in Fig. 2 when the socketthe diameter of the spring. Only enough length is placed at an angle to the plug, Another ad- I of spring is needed to efiect the desired bending vantage of theselinks is their ability to assist in or transverse flexure of the spring. The spring keeping both the rings [9 and 20 in substantial is preferably of hardened spring steel coated alignment and to assist in moving both rings. with nickel, brass or other 'finishto harmonize together more easily when the rings l9 and 20 with the finish of the surrounding metal parts. are rotated about the spring prior to .fiexing Beyond the end of the springthe plug I0 is the spring in a different direction.- This hinge 50 provided with a groove I! and the socket is proconnection constituted by theselinks 23 and 2d vided withawider groove I 8. Rings l9 and 29 also assists in keeping thelatch in its adjusted ,h are clamped loosely enough in these grooves to position and reduces the likelihood. of the latch enable the rings to' be easily rotated in these becoming accidentally released. Still another 5 grooves around thespring or its axis. ,These advantage of this hinge joint-isits funetionas a guide for the contiguous spring convolutions in Fig. 2, reducing the likelihood of their becoming overlapped or riding over one another as might occur in the case of a sharp bend in the spring if this hinged guide member were not present.

"The groove I8 is made wider than necessary to receive the ring '29. in order that the side of the ring connected to the latch and hinge joint may be free to yield slightly under pressure of sharply bending the spring. The hinge pin 25 is preferably headed over on each end so that the links 23 and 24 are retained in substantially the same plane. The device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is screwed into a lamp socket or other receptacle for the plug and the rings rotated until the latch is on the side of the spring toward which it is to be bent. Then with one hand the. socket may be bent at the desired angle and the latch automatically engages the catch with the action of a pawl. To release the bent spring it will only be necessary to bend the spring a little more or enough to take the stress off the latch when the end of the catch may be moved by the thumb or finger back towards the headed end 3| of the latchto allow the spring to return to its substantially normal unfiexed position shown in Fig. 1. I

The device shown in Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive represents another type of holding means for maintaining the spring flexed. The rings 19:1 and 20a are similarly located on a plugand socket or other connecting members spaced by a coil spring. In this embodiment the links 23a and Mt: are made of strip material with the flat side contiguous thespring, these links being connected by the pivot or hinge 25a. The latch and catch 2| a and 22a are provided with screw threads 32 and 33 upon which a turnbuckle 34 is threaded, the threads 32 and 33 being in opposite directions so that by rotation of the turnbuckle 34 the effective length of the holding device may be shortened so that the spring is held bent as shown in Fig. 6 or lengthened to release the spring to the approximate position shown in Fig. 5. Theoutside of the turnbuckle is knurled to provide a firm finger grip.

The links 23a and 24a are shown in Fig. 7 as having bifurcated ends folded around the pins- 29a and 39a. Between these bifurcated ends the holding means Ho and 22a are pivoted. The device of Figs. 5 to '7 is not adapted in the form illustrated to hold the spring in as much of a flexed position as is the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may satisfactorily function when the spring is bent substantially to a 90 angle or less, whereas the device shown in Figs. 5 to 7 is only suitable for angles up to about The turnbuckle type of holding means is also adapted for one-hand operation though it will be found to be more easily operated when two hands are used inasmuch as one hand can take the spring stress off the turnbuckle while the other hand turns it.

Among the advantages of this invention may be mentioned the provision of the wide groove it which permits limited movement of the pin 3% longitudinally of the spring especially in taking the stress oil the holding means for release of the spring from its flexed position. The insulating body of the plug and socket are preferably of porcelain or of some molded resinous or phenolic condensation product. The thread ed grooves on the insulating plug and socket in different directions,

members are preferably made about .003 of an inch larger in diameter than the spring when unstressed to facilitate holding the spring in place and to prevent twisting the flexible conductors inside the spring. When the spring is twisted in one direction it will be found to be capable of rotating within the threaded grooves fairly easily because in threading the spring onto the insulated plug and socket members it will be rotated in a direction tending to expand the convolutions. However this rotation will be limited by the end of the threaded grooves. In this way it is a comparatively simple matter to assemble the spring onto the plug and socket members.

However rotation or twisting of the spring in the other direction tends to contract the convoluticns and bind them very tightly on the threaded groove. Because of this characteristic the spring acts to prevent twisting of the flexible conductors, which is not possible in some of the early ball and socket type suggestions. The, only twisting of the socket with respect to theplug is of a comparatively few degrees due to the slight expanding or contracting of the spring convolutions. Other types of holdingmeans than the latch and catch or the turnbuckle illustrated may be used. The hinged links 23 and 24 are desirable for the purposes mentioned above. The rings id and 29 should be adjustable about the spring in order that the spring may be flexed Since it is not 'ordinarily convenient to easily determine the angular position of the plug and socket members after the plug has been screwed into its 'support,,the device of this invention will ordinarily not be bent until the plug has been screwed home. The spring can then be bent in whatever direction is'desired to directthe spotlight and its reflector if used to the desired location. The groove 58 for the ring 20 need not necessarilybe wider than the groove ii. In other words, the ring 20 need not necessarily have any longitudinal yieldability or movement. The hinged links and holding means provide a more rugged and rigid construction than would be the case only a holding means alone were. used to retain the spring in bent position.

An advantage of the device illustrated is the ability of the spring to be cooled when some of the convolutions are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 2 whereby heat transmission from one of the connectors to the other is substantially lessened. The flexible conductors electrically connecting the plug and socket may be visible, es-

pecially when the spring is flexed. When unflexed or unstressed the convolutions of the spring are preferably slightly spaced apart. No tools are required in adjusting the socket and spring to the required position or .in releasing 1 This application is an improvement on my prior application Serial Number 191,886 filed February 23, 1938, for adjustable lamp socket; which has now eventuated into Patent No. 2,149,- 549 dated March '2, 1939. l

The drawing illustrates the construction of the two embodiments of this invention, substantially to scale, except that the notches il of the latch 2! are not generally made as large as has been shown. The action of the catch in holding the latch may possibly be better understood if it be imagined the spring, links, and

- latch, are in substantially the position illustrated with the catch loosely engaging the latch.

To tightly engage the latch the catchis moved in a generally clockwise direction inFig. 2 until the opposite edges of theperforation tightly grip the latch. By taking tension ofi the latch 21 by flexing the" spring a greater amount, the

catchmay be easily releases;

By making the turnbuckle 3 longer, so that it {can cover greater lengths of the threaded portions 32 and 33, the turnbuckle may also be made to function to hold the socket in substantially any position of', adjust mentlfrom zero to support, a pair of flexible conductors within said spring and extending into saidsupport and connector, means for holding the spring transversely flexed, and meanscomprising articulated links substantially contiguous the spring convolutions .on the side most sharply flexechconnected adja cent the ends of the flr'strneans, and adapted to push some of the more longitudinally central convolutions inwardly toward said conductors H when said spring is flexed to oneside.

of the plug and socket beyond the spring ends, 1 I

A the latch and grip it more tightly as the spring limit twisting of the conductors, a ring beyond" 2. A threaded plug and socket, a pair of flexible insulated conductors connecting them, a coil spring around said conductors and spacing the plug and socket, a ring rotatably secured to each and a latch and catch, carried by said rings, and at least one of said rings being longitudinally shiftable.

3. 'A plug and socket electrically connected by flexibleconductors, a coil spring around said conductors and connecting the plug and socket tolimit twisting of the conductors, a turnbuckle for I tricallyconnecting said connectors, the outer surface and end portion of eachconnector opposite I itsfmetal portion being provided with a' few holding the springflexed transversely, and a support for each end of the turnbuckle secured to the plug and socket.

4. A plug andasocke-t electrically connected by flexible conductors, a coilspring around said conductors and connecting the plug and socket to limit twisting of the conductors, a'flexible latch' and a catch into which the latch is passed-for holding said spring transversely flexed, the 'recessed portion of the catch being shaped to flex is flexed an increased amount.

flexible conductors, a coil spring around said conductors and connecting the plug and socket to each end of the spring, links hinged to said rings spring transversely flexed, said means being adjustable in its effective length to hold the spring flexed difierent amounts, and said rings, links and means being rot'atably adjustable around the" 1 spring so that it may .be' bent in difierent directions; p

6. A plug and'socket electricallyconnectedby flexibleconductoraa coil'spring around said con-' ductors and connecting the plug and socket to limit twisting of the conductors, a' ring beyond each end of the spring, links hinged to said rings and. hinged together adjacent the longitudinal central portion ofsaid .spring for pressing the spring inwardly on one side when flexed, and! meansalso hinged to said rings for holding the spring transverselyffiexed, said means being adjusthable in its efi'ective length to hold the spring flexed different amounts, and said rings, links and means being rotatably adjustable aroundthe spring so that it may be bent in different directrically connecting said connectors, the outer surface and end portion of each connector opposite its metal portion being provided with a few thread convolutions in,-'the insulation, a coil spring threaded onto-each connector, said spring in the insulation in which it is received to limit twisting said conductors, av ring rotatably secured to each connector longtudinally beyond the end being of slightly less diameter than'the'threads of the spring, means 'hinged to each ring Y for holding the spring transversely flexed, an'd'means also hinged to, said ringsand located between the spring and first mentioned means for pressing the adjacentside of the spring inwardly as it is flexed. i

8. A pair of electrical connectors each having a" body of insulating material around a threaded metal portion, a pair of flexible conductors electhread convolutions in the-insulation, a coil spring threaded onto'each'. connector, said spring being of slightly less diameter than the threads ing the spring transversely flexed, andmeans also hinged to said rings and located between, the.

spring andflrst'mentionedmeans for pressing the adjacent side of-,the;spring inwardly; as \itisflexed, at least one-of'said rings beinglongitudinally shiftable and said second mentioned means 1 comprising at. least a pairof links hinged together i at their ends remote from said rings, the portion of; the spring betwen the adjacent ends of said plug and socket being not substantially longer than its diameter.

LEONARD W.; REIS. I 

